


Writing on the Walls

by RiYuYami



Series: Pulling Strings [37]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Chapter Five's plot is going off the rails for this part of the story, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-01-04 02:37:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21190184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiYuYami/pseuds/RiYuYami
Summary: Henry lets the new Alice, who is holding him captive, in on the strange dream he had where Bendy gave him the Seeing Tool. Was this a good idea? And what will become of his dream Bendy now?





	1. An Angel Needs to Know the Truth

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, it’s been a while, but I’ve brought fun stuff!
> 
> Here’s the introduction of Tom and Allison Angel in this au, though they’re not quite like they’re supposed to be in canon.
> 
> On with the fic!

Henry sat quietly on the floor as he looked down at the sheets of paper in front of him, not too thrilled that he could hear his prison guards talking about him like he wasn’t there.

“Can’t we just leave him for the demon, I bet he’s the reason why that thing is running around.”

“That won’t help us find out why he’s here, Tom. I doubt he can do anything to us.”

“He killed that Boris.”

“You saw what became of him, what she did. And besides… lots of Toons are easy to kill in this place.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“I know.”

Quietly, Henry watched them, making sure they didn’t see him as he did. There were two of them, a woman and a man, but neither were really… those, in a sense. The man was a Boris, but there was so much different about him that Henry had been rather shocked to see his ‘design’.

He was taller than the Boris that Henry had befriended, and he was scarred up across his face. They looked old, and part of his design rather than caused by something in the studio. Interestingly, his pie-cut eyes were also a dark brown, not black. So far, Henry had not seen any Toons or ink creatures with colored eyes, except ‘Alice’s’ single eye.

The Boris, who seemed to go by Tom, had a metal left arm, and his right hand was missing its glove, showing scarred skin. This appeared to be from the studio, it was clearly not part of the design he had, the scars were, oddly enough, a strange, pinkish gray. He also seemed to have a bite in the tip of one of his ears, and he wore a mechanic’s jumpsuit.

The woman was clearly an Alice Angel, in fact, she looked exactly like the character. For the most part.

Alice looked like her counterpart, though she kept her hair back in a ponytail, her halo somehow tied up in it. Her black dress was damaged but repaired with cartoony stitching, while also wearing a mechanic’s belt and a yellow-tinted button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Alice also seemed to carry around a sword, and Henry knew very well that she knew how to use it, considering that she stabbed ‘Alice’ in the chest with it.

These two kept him prisoner in their hide-away somewhere further in the studio. Henry rarely spoke with them when they were together, he had tried to reason with Tom, but the man glowered at him and told him to be quiet, he was a threat. Henry sure as hell didn’t feel like one, but from what he could tell, the Toons and ink creatures weren’t exactly keen on befriending a human.

Boris, however, had been the exception and Henry missed him dearly.

He looked down at his art, seeing the drawings he had done of the happy wolf. He hoped he was out of the ink by now, having went home to his saferoom. But the artist knew that wasn’t the case, something in him told him that Boris wasn’t gonna come out of the ink.

His attention went to the drawings of Bendy he had done, the ones based on the devil darlin’ from his old days here, and the ones from his dreams. There were even a few sketches from memory of the Ink Demon “Bendy”, in his first form that Henry had encountered, to this one that had changed, the one that looked sickly yet dangerous.

The one that tore the head right off of the Projectionist.

Henry was so distracted with returning to his art that he hadn’t heard the door close, nor had he noticed Alice staring down at him from the window in the door. “You’re a great artist.”

He nearly jumped out of his skin, looking towards the angel. She smiled, giggling a bit behind her hand. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, Henry.”

She knew his name, they’ve secretly spoke to one another on a few occasions in the past two days or so, he still didn’t know how long he’s been here. She was kinder to him than Tom, but he understood why the Boris didn’t care for him. He was a threat; he had accidentally made a reputation for himself as a human that fought some of the most dangerous beings in the studio and lived.

He didn’t blame Tom for not trusting him at all, he’d be the same to if he was a Toon in this place.

Alice, however, seemed to realize that Henry was just a man trying to survive, like all of them here. He told her things about his journey, about his Boris. She kept it to herself, she probably worried that Tom wouldn’t like knowing they were talking until Henry could prove that he was a good guy.

“It’s fine, I was distracted.” Henry smiled as her, getting up to stand. He showed her a few of the drawings he had done, letting her look them over.

She looked at the drawings of “Bendy”, frowning softly. “You said he was after you, do you have any idea why?”

“I sort of do.” Henry sighed. “He’s playin’ a ‘game’ with me, he wants to torment me before he kills me. But… Bendy seems to be changin’ his mind. Like, he wants to harm me, but he doesn’t know anymore. He’s havin’ second thoughts.”

“How do you know?”

“He…” The artist swallowed. “He talks to me in my dreams.”

Alice looked at him like he was crazy, and he didn’t blame her. “He’s been talkin’ to me from the start. Not really the Ink Demon, the li’l one.” He tapped his drawing of a normal Bendy.

“He talks to me in my dreams, tellin’ me things about what he really thinks, of things goin’ on. I think he’s stuck in two states of mind. I know it sounds insane, but there’s a Bendy who wants me alive, and a Bendy who wants me dead. I feel like… I feel like Joey is behind this.”

He saw Alice shudder at the mention of Joey’s name. “Do you believe that?”

“I do. I really do. Because of this.” He approached his sleep cot and removed something from under his pillow. Alice’s pie-cut eyes widen as she looked at the strange device Bendy had left for Henry in his dream last night.

“That’s… what is that?”

Henry shrugged, bringing it over to her. “A weird device Bendy left for me in a dream I had last night. When I woke up, it was here.”

“What!? The Ink Demon got in!?”

“No, if he did, you would know.”

The angel looked unsettled by that as she took the device, looking it over. “Why did he give you this?”

“To see things.”

She looked confused until Henry turned it on for her, letting her look up at the ceiling and walls of the cell Henry occupied, shocked at all the glowing lights and drawings. “This is… this is amazing!”

“They’re his writings.” Henry told her, explaining what he learned from the dream. About how Bendy is upset, freaking out about what is going on, that he wants to be saved even though he knows that his mind won’t let him know the truth. He told her the words are Bendy’s inner thoughts, his advice to Henry that he can’t say as “Bendy”, and about the Seeing Tool being the only way to see them outside of the dreams.

Alice is obviously conflicted, she can’t tell if Henry is messing with her or not, but where did that tool come from? And the messages? There is no lying in his voice or his face, he’s been telling her the truth. The angel knew of his adventures and never had he spoken a lie; this was pretty much the same thing here. She sets down the tool and sighs. “I have to tell Tom, Henry.”

“He’ll be mad, and he won’t believe me.”

“I know,” Alice sighed, “but he needs to know that there is something else going on here. Do you think you can prove to him your dreams?”

“Outside of the tool and the messages? I dunno.”

With that, the conversation over the topic finished with Alice telling him that they’ll think of something.

\--

Henry felt something watching him as he slept, making him open his eyes, only to be startled when he found himself in a completely new room, not the prison cell. How did he get here…? This room was something he had never seen in the studio before.

The ceiling was high, the room seemed to be metal. He could hear machinery and smelled the strong scent of ink around him. Above him, circling this bizarre room were movie screens, projecting cartoons of Bendy and his friends, ones he helped with or they were created after he was fired.

In the center of the room was a large chair, outfitted with pipes and what… appeared the be broken halos, like the one that “Alice” had sticking out of her head. Or were those chains? Could be both! It sat upon a pile of metal, gears, and the projectors that displayed the cartoons, all stuck together with ink.

“What is…” He starts, before he hears something above the machinery, something behind him that he knows all too well…

He turned sharply, seeing “Bendy” standing in a doorway, his breathing loud and ragged as his grin grows unnaturally larger than he’s ever seen it.

**“It’s almost time for this game to end…”** The Ink Demon chuckles as he steps closer, making Henry step back towards the large chair. **“It’ll all be over in just a bit… I’ll have what I want, and you will be able to stop playin’… forever.”**

A cold, inky hand clasped around Henry’s throat as he gagged, hands fumbling behind himself as he was shoved against the throne.

**“I’ll see you soon, creator.”**

Green eyes watched in horror as “Bendy’s” mouth broke open, showing jagged teeth instead of the normal grin he bore, distracting him long enough for a large, clawed hand to swipe at him.

Henry suddenly dropped to the hard, dirt floor with a shout. He gasped for air as he tried to get his bearings, not hearing the alarmed voice of Alice as she opened the door, running up to him.

“Henry! Henry, are you okay!?” He looked up, seeing the worried Toon trying to help him sit up. He could see a confused Tom walk into the room, raising an ‘eyebrow’ at him.

“I… he spoke to me…” Henry gasped; his mouth felt so dry.

“Who did?” Tom asked, glowering at him.

The artist looked at the two of them before sighing. “We’ve got a lot to talk about…”

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry tells Alice and Tom what’s going on, and “Bendy’s” up to something, but what could it be?
> 
> Also, an old ‘friend’ shows back up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah.
> 
> Yes, I promised I’d get the second part up soon, but I guess not quite putting it off for a year counts as ‘soon’.
> 
> So, if you’ve seen my account, I’ve been a bit distracted with two other fandoms, but fear not, I’m not letting this au die! I’ve got to finish up the studio part of the story, after all!
> 
> Warning: massive changes to the events of Chapter Five, especially when Henry gets into the cavern. I would have followed what happened in Chapter Five, but I’ve had to final battle planned for nearly three years and I’m not changing it now. Also, game violence, and the events of Sammy battle
> 
> On with the fic!

Henry watched Tom and Alice as they spoke to one another in quiet whispers, sometimes glancing over towards the cell to see if he was listening.

He had just explained to them everything he knew of what was going on in the studio, of “Bendy’s” bizarre behavior and ‘game’, of the strange device he woke up with the other day, and of his newest nightmare. He told them of who he was, what his relationship to the studio and Joey Drew was, and that he still didn’t understand his role in all of this.

When Henry finished, the Toons stepped aside to discuss this between themselves. He didn’t blame them for being uncomfortable and untrusting of Henry’s words, he didn’t… really believe them much himself when he said them aloud, but he knew well enough that this is the truth.

There was a strange rumbling under his feet, a can of soup fell from a shelf, and Tom looked alarmed. “He’s coming!” He growled and grabbed the axe on the workbench. “Alice, let’s go!” He shouted, going to the door.

“We can’t just leave him, Tom!” Alice exclaimed, pointing towards Henry, who rushed towards the door.

“What’s happenin’? Is it the Ink Demon?”

Alice looked at him with alarmed, frightened eye. “I…” He looked over at Tom, who was making his way out of the room. “I’m sorry…” She said, and Henry believed her, watching her follow after her partner.

Okay, they left him behind, he expected that, Tom made it clear to only look out for those you trusted. Henry swallowed, feeling the ground shake again, a horrible rushing of ink flowed through old pipes. He had to get outta here, before “Bendy” showed up, or this place flooded.

Grabbing the looking glass he had strapped to his belt, he brought it up, looking around. He saw the messages from before, before turning to look towards the small bathroom in the cell, finding a golden message, pointing at the toilet, telling him to open it. Pulling a face, the animator removed the lid of the back of the toilet, surprised to find a loose GENT pipe inside. Better than nothing, he thought as he shook it off and turned to the boards keeping him in.

He made short work of the door and rushed out of the cell, pipe and view glass in his hands.

Henry had to get out of here, he had to find the Ink Demon, this all needed to end.

\--

The motor sputtered out as Henry parked the small boat at the docks. It had been… a stressful ride, to say the least, as he had to avoid being crushed and drowned by a giant hand that was a mutated Toon one. He found himself at the end of the river of ink in a small shanty town of sorts, where a Lost One watched him curiously from their perch.

Henry decided not to look at them anymore as he got off the boat, stepping up he docks and into the tiny town. Lifting up the glass, he found more golden messages, and what looked like damage but only done through golden ink. Seems Bendy has a lot of thoughts about this place, makes him sad, from what Henry could tell.

He paused, hearing something, coming from the far end. Sounded like mumbling, was there someone else here aside from himself and the Lost One?

Carefully, the human made his way towards a boarded-up entry way, just feet away, before a familiar voice shouted at him, followed by the swing of an axe through the boards. _“BETRAYED! ABANDONED!”_ Came the angry cries of Sammy Lawrence.

With a yelp, Henry dodged the blade of the axe, and several swings of it, as Sammy continued to scream. “Sammy!? You’re alive!?” Henry exclaimed, trying to avoid being decapitated.

_“YOU WON’T LET ME DIE! YOU WON’T LET ME BE FREE!”_ Sammy screamed back, nearly cutting Henry’s stomach. With a swing of his own weapon, Henry managed to strike Sammy right in the head, sending his mask flying.

The musician froze on the spot, head turned to see the mask drop to the ground. There was an uncomfortable pause as they both stood there in silence, before Sammy stood up straight, hissing, and turning sharply to grab a hold of Henry’s shoulders. The animator gasped at the sight of Sammy’s face, it _was like a skull, soaked in thick ink._

_“You lied to me!”_ Sammy screamed. _“You said I’d be free!”_

“I-I never said anyth-!” Henry was suddenly thrown to the ground, with Sammy’s foot slamming down on his chest, knocking the window outta him.

_“Well, I’m going to free you now!”_ The madman said with glee, lifting up his axe._ “Free your head, right off your shoulders! Sheep, sheep, sheep, it’s time for… sleep!”_

Henry watched as an axe suddenly swung through the air, slamming right into the side of Sammy’s head. The musician stood there for a second, frozen, letting out a small wheeze. “… just wanted to be free…” He whimpered before dropping down next to Henry. He saw the axe being yanked right out of the dead man’s head, before Sammy slowly dissolved before his eyes.

Carefully, Henry looked up, seeing Tom and Alice, staring at him, before the wolf Toon held out his axe, smirking a bit. “Saw you were havin’ some trouble.” Tom spoke as Henry took the axe, being helped up by it.

“Where did you guys go? You left me behind.” Henry frowned, taking the axe as Tom picked up Sammy’s.

“Had to get away, you can survive the Ink Demon with ease, we can’t.” Alice replied and Henry couldn’t argue with that. They take a while to come back, if they can, he just gets spat back out.

\--

The vault was empty, not that Henry expected it to have what he wanted in it. He didn’t even know what he was looking for, he just figured there had to be some evidence to what could end Bendy’s game.

He heard his companions talking between themselves again after Tom had gotten the door broken to allow them to keep going. They were trying to figure out a plan, trying to see what could be done with where they were. Apparently, neither of them have ever gotten this far before, it was dangerous to come to this area, at least, that’s what they believed.

Whispers in the dark says that the Ink Demon reigns in the lowest area of all, and they were not far from it.

Which meant that “Bendy” was probably waiting for Henry there, he was waiting to get his revenge and finish his little game.

With a swallow of the lump in his throat, the human moved on, tensing up when he found his desk from the first floor down on this level. “Henry?” He heard Alice speak when he stopped suddenly. “What’s the matter?”

“This…” He gestured to the old desk, “was mine, from up on the first floor.”

Tom raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. “Why is it down here?”

“Let’s find out…” Lifting up the looking glass, Henry found a message for him.

_I’M WAITING FOR YOU, RIGHT WHERE IT ALL STARTED._

Henry frowned, wait, where it all started? Does he mean all the way up on the first floor, not down here? But how was Henry supposed to get back upstairs? “Alice” broke the elevator, and these two didn’t seem to have any idea where another one could be for him to use…

Looking through the glass, Henry found arrows on the walls, this was set up for him. “Let’s go.” He told the Toons and kept walking.

“Bendy” wanted this to end upstairs, well, then Henry was gonna go back up there.

There was a freezing coldness to the air and Henry stopped when Alice told him to, pulling him back from getting close to a large, long glass window. The trio watched as the Demon shuffled past the glass, looking terrible since Henry last got a good look at him.

He was a dripping mess of ink, looking much more like a skeleton than before, his mouth looked stressed as he clenched his teeth tightly. Actually, that was the most frightening change about Bendy, he had an upper and lower jaw now, with two rows of teeth pressed tightly together.

“Bendy” didn’t seem to notice them as he continued on down the hallway, the only thing separating him from them was the glass window, and Henry wasn’t going to take any chances of getting past him. He didn’t want to risk a fight, he’s seen this guy break through a metal door, glass would be nothing for him.

Quietly, they watched “Bendy” vanish into the wall through a portal, giving them the cue to keep going down their own hall. At the end of it, they found a large, open cavern, with a lake of ink. At the end, across the lake, Henry saw an elevator.

“Guess that’s our way up.” He moved to walk into the ink, but a hand grabbed his arm. He turned, seeing a worried look on Alice’s face.

“Henry… we-we can’t go in there.”

He was about to ask why, but he remembered what she had told him before in their hideout, Toons like her and Tom, they couldn’t enter the ink without being lost to it.

“I guess this is where we part ways.” He sighed. “But listen, I… I promise, I’ll find a way to get you two out of here.”

Alice just smiled sadly. “I won’t hold you to that but thank you.”

Henry tried to smile as well, but they all knew that it was a snowball’s chance in Hades that any of them were getting out of here alive.

Tom approached, patting Henry on the shoulder. “Good luck. Take him out.”

“I’ll try.” With that, Henry turned away from them. He looked at the ink lake and took a set into it, shuddering at the cold liquid. He trudged through it slowly, a bit happy to find that it just went up to his chest, but he really wished there was a bridge.

He got to the shore in front of the elevator, looking back. Tom and Alice were still there, so far away. With a frown, Henry straightened his back and stepped up to the elevator. He looked at the floor switches, finding the ground floor.

“I’m coming for you, Bendy. Let’s end this.”

With that, he pressed the button and began to ascend.

Tom and Alice watched him from where they stood, the wolf reaching out and taking the angel’s hand. “Do you think he’ll stop the Ink Demon?” He heard her ask quietly.

“I dunno.” Tom sighed. “But at this point, he’s our best shot.”

**“Oooooh, I think it’s gonna take a lot more than some ol’ man to stop me!”**

They turned sharply at the voice behind them, seeing “Bendy” looming over them, his grin manic and wild, a strange glow appearing under the curtain of ink on his face.

**“Come on, ya two! Time fer you to join in on da game!”** He slammed his hands down on their shoulders and pulled them close to him. His laughter echoed loudly in the cavern, covering their screams of terror as he dragged them down into the ink with him.

All that was heard was the gentle lapping of the inky waves on the shore, no evidence that the demon had been there, nor the two Toons that had been standing there just seconds ago.

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo… why is there no Giant Ink Machine?
> 
> Because Henry is gonna fight Bendy in the original Ink Machine room from the game before the release of Chapter Four, which I’ve had planned for a long time and I do not want to change things up after writing so many stories involving the original room.
> 
> Also, if you’re curious what “Bendy” has planned for Alice and Tom… well, you’ll have to find out in the next part of this series.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please comment and kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> I’ll have another part for this soon, but I felt this a good place to stop! From here, Chapter Five’s content is gonna go way off the rails. I’ll follow some of the plot, but there will be a lot of new things added and changed in order to make this work.
> 
> I’ve been working on this for a bit, but I felt like finishing it for today, since it’s Chapter Five’s first anniversary!
> 
> Thanks for reading this, don’t forget to kudos and comment!


End file.
